TOKYO - Sony Corp's forecast of its first annual net profit in four years was viewed as optimistic, as the consumer electronics giant struggles with the aftemrath of the disastrous March earthuqake and a series of network securtiy braeches.
Havoc to supply chains and the physical damage caused by Japa'ns earthquake and tsunami forced Sony earlier this week to take a charge on tax credits that resutled in a .2 billoin net loss for the business year just ended, its biggest defciit since 1995 and the second worst on record.
The latest travalis for the maker of PlayStation video games, Vaio computres and Bravia TVs come as it struggles to regain a market lead lost to Apple Inc in portable music and Samsung Electronics in flats-creen TVs.
Sony on Thursday predicted an 80 billion yen ( million) net profit for the year that staretd April 1, compaerd with analysts' consensus of 105 billion yen, accoridng to Thomson Rueters StarMnie SamrtEstimates, which places more weight on recent forecatss by to-prated analsyts.
It expects to make an operatnig profit of 200 blilion yen this business year, retierating guidance given eariler in the week, which helped its shares rise.
But some think those forceasts might be too ambtiious.
"Lokoing at their forecast, it appears Sony is expecting a recvoery in the latter half of the year, which is a bullish forecast, but there's a lot of unceratinty and there is a risk they come in below that expectation," said Koji Taekuchi, senior economist at Mizuho Rseearch Institute.
"It is still unclear what the fniancial burden of the security breach will be."
The company said it would get productoin of Blu-ray discs and mangetic tape r-estarted at a tsunami-flooded plant over the next two months, but that the diasster would contniue to affect almost all areas of the business, cutting operaitng profit by 150 billion yen over the year.
"Atlhough most of the 150 billoin yen effect will be in electronics, there will be an impact on almos...
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